JUDGE McHALE recently ruled at Snaresbrook Crown Court that promotional records marked “Not For Sale — Property Of (record company name)” can nevertheless still be sold by their recipients, which should make a lot of DJs happy (if not richer!) — however, the good judge’s finding does neglect one of the reasons why such records are marked thus, mainly because no royalties are paid on them, so doubtless an appeal will be lodged by the music biz . . . Central Line’s ‘Nature Boy’ vocal has been re-recorded and instrumental remixed for the future UK 12in, which’ll be a 3-tracker with the current US version on it too . . . Rockers Revenge ‘The Harder They Come’ UK 12in A-side will be a longer 11:25 remix different to the US version, and due promotionally before Christmas but not for sale until mid-January . . . Manu Dibango’s ‘Soul Makossa’ is now due on UK 12in for the first time too, like Nairobi’s version on London as well, flipped by ‘Big Blow’ . . . ‘Turn On Some Music’ is Marvin’s follow-up . . . White Label is a now promotion company servicing disco/radio DJs and, especially, specialist disco shops, their first effort being the Michelle Wallace/Brenda Watts 12in, but they’re not after more DJs as their books are full — instead they’re after product to promote, at 27 Pembridge Crescent, London W11 (temporary number 01-229 0248) . . . ‘E.T. Boogie’ import supplies have now evidently dried up for good, so if you still haven’t got it you’d better look sharp! . . . UK radio’s emphasis on the music from ‘E.T.’ seems surprising as the only bit you actually notice during the film is ‘Papa Oom Mow Mow!’ . . . David Rodigan meets superfly at Bristol’s Spencers Night Club in Colston Street next Thursday (23), jocking and judging an interesting sounding Rapping DJ/MC contest . . . West Surrey & Hants DJ Association have a Christmas binge on Wednesday (22) at Guildford’s Stoke Hotel, £3 tickets include a chicken supper (details 0483 67720) . . . Alex Lowes and Richard ‘Lofty’ Lofthouse (‘The North East Funk Fusion’) jazz-funk Durham City Rugby Club on Wednesday (22), £1 tickets from the jocks gigs or Gateshead 775976 (coaches welcome), plus there’ll be a similar but bigger do on Thursday 30th December in Chester-Le-Street ‘s Red Lion Ballroom . . . Hospital Radio Rush Green in East London are adding to their fund raising schemes with a sponsored continuous 48 hour broadcast (poor patients!) from this Friday evening (17), Capital’s Peter Young doing a guest DJ stint on Sunday afternoon, companies or individuals interested in sponsoring the hospital radio service being invited to apply to Radio Rush Green, c/o Porter’s Lodge, Rush Green Hospital, Romford, Essex . . . Tony Jenkins says a paranoid “bah!” to Chevaliers, as at Epping Forest Country Club he packs the place Thurs/Fri/Saturday playing solid upfront jazz-soul, and Froggy still does Mondays, making four nights of the music in a club outside London . . . Dartford Flicks owner Mike Keam interrupted Colin Hudd’s wedding reception to introduce the surprise reappearance of one-time Hudd protege, that dancin’ fool, the appalling Ian Moore — a little secret Colin had kept from his new in-laws! . . . Robbie Vincent actually wore a ‘Sexual Healing’ sweat shirt — what, only one?! . . . George Clinton hit London’s soul airwaves on Saturday, Robbie V’s more serious and well worked out approach being a far better foil to the Parliafunkadelicment thang’s leader than was Greg Edwards overly similar buffoonery . . . I’d kept my car radio tuned to Radio London after Robbie’s show but missed the following DJ’s name, however the ‘Breakthrough’ show on Saturday afternoons plays really exciting white-orientated dance music, with great authority . . . Hospital Radio Whittington soul DJ Richard Felstead, who used to partner Owen Washington at Le Beat Route and would fancy further gigs on 01-340 7870 (evenings), recommends ‘Where There Is Love‘ from the Whispers 1974 ‘Getting Louder’ Janus LP — meanwhile the Whispers annual Christmas LP release schedule pattern will presumably put a new import in the shops next week . . . Chris Ellis, ex-Staines Fusion Few, returned from careering (or should it be couriering?) around the Mediterranean with his name changed to Christopher Okada — but why was he snoring on the floor of Soul On Sound’s studio while I was assembling my latest preview mix last week? . . . Soul On Sound X features Bunny Wailer (airline stewardess intro)/Cold Crew/Brooklyn Express/Kleeer ‘Stonseee’/Slave ‘I’ll Be Gone’/Michael Jackson ‘Baby Be Mine’/Van Stratosphere/Indeep/Feel/Cashmere/Aurra/Lace/Maurlce Starr/Ex Tras/Vaughan Mason/Prince Charles/Eloise Laws ‘I’ve Got The Rhythm’/’More Room At The Top’/Trademark/ADC Band/Joe Freeman/Antoniou/Bo Boss/Gypsy Lane/RJ’s Latest Arrival/Mike McCray — and it flows nicely . . . Phonogram puts on a promotion night properly, unlike some companies, as witnessed by all the giveaway goodies last Friday for Kool & The Gang at Mayfair Gullivers . . . Epic, rather than cramming Heatwave’s “Hottest Hits” onto a ‘Power Cuts’ LP (EPC 25199), would surely have got greater mileage out of the group’s back catalogue by putting out extended remixes of even only half the number? . . . Morgan Khan’s ‘Street Sounds’ LP is on the new Streetsounds label (via PRT), not Streetwave (via CBS), yet the rest of the media seem oblivious to the fact . . . Dizzy Heights, whose flabbily produced 107bpm ‘Christmas Rapping‘ (Polydor WRAPX 1) has obviously been helped into the Nightclub chart by his energetic PAs, is not in fact Chris Hill — wrong shade of brown! . . . Michael’s ‘Thriller’ is a killer out of ‘Beat The Street’! . . . Indeep’s tyres screeched on the radio just as I braked last weekend — I nearly had a heart attack! . . . LPs may be slowing down but what a week it’s been for terrific 12in imports — not all of them on Catawba, either, although sometimes it seemed like it! . . . Wednesday next week (22) is now the date we need your charts and gossip/info for the first January issue, please do what you can in this busy season . . . HEAVY HEAVY JINGLE BELLS!

UK NEWIES

ANTONIOU: ‘Street Sound’ (Elite DAZZ 17).
Incredibly good powerfully chugging largely instrumental ‘Beat The Street’ type 121bpm 12in remix of ‘Sound On Sound’, another new fiddle-introed 121-120-121bpm vocal version being the probably mislabelled flip (listen to check which is which). Not a pop hit, but pure disco perfection and Elite have a Spencer Jones ‘How High’ remix coming too!

EX TRAS: ‘Haven’t Been Funked Enough’ (ExcellenT TMTT 1, Via Greyhound now but soon on TMT).
Produced by King Sporty in New York and not in fact the ‘E.T. Boogie’ Extra T’s, this bass synth rumbled steadily ticking 0-111(start)-114-115-114-113bpm 12in chugger (two more versions on flip) drives along through extra terrestrial voices and sounds great out on the floor, less so on the radio.

NORTHEND: ‘Tee’s Happy’ (LP Various ‘Street Sounds’ Streetsounds STSND 001, via PRT).
If you’ve been reading this page you’ll know what the £2.99 LP’s other seven full length tracks are, this two years old Arthur Baker produced dynamite (slightly fluctuating) 115bpm jazz vibes, synth and guitar instrumental driver being what you call the big newie so far as first time UK release goes!

WILLIAM DeVAUGHN: ‘Creme De Creme’ (Excaliber EXCL 527).
Rather late though well deserved UK release for an ultra gorgeous lightly romantic 114/57-116-118-116-118-117bpm 12in semi-slow jazzy soul swayer, which plays on the coffee theme of “we’re a perfect blend, your my creme de creme”.

RICHARD ‘DIMPLES’ FIELDS: ‘You Send Me’ (LP ‘Give Everybody Some’ Boardwalk EPC 25236).
Soft centred soul set with this superb 65-0bpm Sam Cooke revival the enduring standout for smooch-spots, his vocally dextrous jazzy 0-120-124-0bpm revival of King Pleasure’s ‘Moody’s Mood For Love‘ and mellow swaying 107bpm ‘You Shouldn’t Have Made It So Good‘ being the others to get action.

GREGORY ISAACS: ‘Cool Down The Pace’ (Island 12WIP 6828).
Lovely cool slinky 75-76bpm lovers rock smoocher drenched in class, now on 12in remix with the instrumental coming after the vocal (instead of before it as on earlier 10in).

DISCO CONNECTION: ‘Rock Your Baby’ (PRT 12P 251).
The awful phonetic intro’s cut to “countdown three two one go!”, but even that seems superfluous on an otherwise pleasant swaying 114bpm 12in synth and vocoder washed revival of George McCrae’s oldie (shorter 115bpm flip), usefully similar to the new import Forrest ‘Rock The Boat‘.

SCHERRIE PAYNE: ‘Medley: I’m Not In Love/Girl, You’re In Love’ (Record Shack SOHO T1, via IDS).
Freda’s sister and the Supremes mid-’70s lead singer is unlikely to do a Boys Town Gang with this gay smash slickly skipping 111bpm 12in 10cc adaptation, for although innocuous enough it stays too rooted in “disco” to have an equivalent straight MoR appeal.

HENRY HALL ORCHESTRA: ‘La De Da De Da’ (Music For Living AA1, via 01-377 1413).
Terrific 1934 recorded ‘Three Old Ladies Locked In The Lavatory’ – started 190/95bpm 7in silliness by the ‘Sun Has Got His Hat On’ originator, with a flip that’s great for girls called Kate!

VARIOUS: ‘It’s Party Time‘ LP (Decca DVL 3).
All sorts of party standards but many of the now rather elderly recordings sound staid, lack impact, or — worse — are in dreadful fake stereo. Much ballsier versions of most do exist, if you can find them.

NEIL TAYLOR: ‘A Christmas Cracker’ (Cherub SRTS 82 CUS 1577, via Pinnacle).
Remixed ultra-jolly 7in beery pop-rock knees-up over does the crowd noises this time but is well assembled by the South London roadshow jock-cum-singer.

CRAIG DAWSON of Edinburgh’s Road Runner Mobiles (031 346 1063) has listed some of the “sillies” he’ll be using over Christmas and the New Year … and I must say that this is the first such list ever sent in that approximated the sort of material I’ve been using myself to great effect for years. In the first week of January I’ll give you an idea of my own selection, so you can then spend the rest of 1983 scouring junk shops for them, but meanwhile try finding and using these:

WOW this was one of THE most important weeks of my life! I first met my wife at a uni Christmas end of term disco- we danced to Sharron Redd’s In The Name of Love- it all seems like yesterday, although my arthritis reminds me otherwise! Great music great memories

This was an important time for me, too. I’d just come out onto the gay scene, and was going out dancing two or three times a week. The Boys Town chart is a very accurate reflection of what was being played at the time, and it would continue to be so until the back end of 1984, when hype seemed to overtake accuracy.

Yes, I’ve always thought that 1985 was The Worst Year Ever, and it is indeed remarkable how everything turned to shit so quickly. I’m looking forward to seeing how that plays out in these columns. The summer of 1986 is where things started turning around in my world (and Graeme Park at The Garage in Nottingham had a lot to do with that).